By Curse and By Spell
by The Ink Stained Quill
Summary: DISCONTINUED. After The Titan's Curse. Thalia has been captured, and the Titans will do their damnedest to get her to break her vow to Artemis with Luke so that she will turn sixteen and once again have the prophesy weighing on her shoulders. ThaliaxLuke.
1. Thalia: At the Cliffs By the Sea

**This is set after the Titan's Curse, but might have some parts of the Labyrinth in it too. Very much a ThaliaxLuke romance. Emphasis on romance. Lots and lots and _lots_ of it. There will also be stuff from the others -- I don't know what or when yet, since I only have a very basic outline.  
**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Lizzy, the Ink Stained Quill**

Thalia: At the Cliffs By the Sea

"Hunters!" Artemis called, her voice breaking. "Retreat!"

As one, we turned from the cliff side, and our enemies pursued us along the steep cliff's edge. There were too many of them against us to continue. Under my breath, I bitterly cursed Luke. How could he have done this? Became so cruel and unfeeling. _Seven _Hunters lay on the ground behind us, never to rise again. I tried to convince myself that the tears I couldn't seem to hold back we for them, tears of rage not of sadness.

"Elena!" cried one of the newer recruits, Katereen. I turned to the look back. Little blond Elena, barely old enough to be a Hunter at all stumbled as a hellhound nipped at her heels. Without a thought, I sprinted back to help her. The instant the hellhound saw Aegis, it fled in the opposite direction: right over the cliff.

Suddenly I was morbidly curious; Would it land directly on the Princess Andromeda's decks, or into the ocean? As Elena scrambled after the others, I checked to be sure that our pursuers weren't too close, then peered over the edge. I could see nothing but the rolling waves and Luke's ship, far below. I made to turn away, but something caught my attention.

There was a blur in the air and a familiar whine, then a sickening impact as the arrow hit my right shoulder. Pain made stars dance before my eyes. I fell to my knees.

"Thalia!" I heard one of the Hunters -- maybe even Artemis herself -- cry, before I pitched forward over the cliff, blood seeping from my wound.

_I wish I could have died for something better then idiotic curiosity! _I thought. _I wish--_

I passed out.

-

When I regained consciousness, I was lying on a bed.

_How strange, _I thought. _I didn't think there were any beds in the underworld._

And I was warm too. I struggled to sit up, then winced as pain sparked in my shoulder. The arrow had been removed.

It was dark, very dark. And there was someone else in the room. I could hear the deep, even breaths of a sleeper, slightly out of sync with my own. Instinctively my lungs took up the rhythm. More gingerly this time, I sat and swung my legs out of the bed. The grime of battle had been cleaned from my clothes and my hair, grown out since I joined the Hunters, was loose and untangled.

Carefully, I stood, feeling around for any kind of weapon. Bed . . . bedsheets . . . nightstand . . . water pitcher . . . glass . . . lamp . . . . Nothing of much use. I could use the lamp as a club, of shatter the pitcher and glass, but neither option would help me much in the long run. Shards of glass would be as likely to hurt me as anyone I attacked, and a club would need a lot of force behind it, and at close range too. Not a good option with my dominant arm wounded.

_Ha! _I thought as I felt along the floor and my fingers touched something. The tip of a sword sheath.

A sword belonging to whoever was in the room with me, someone I probably didn't want to wake up.

Gritting my teeth, I felt up the sheath to where it fastened at the sleeper's belt. The person was sitting in a chair, so I'd have to bend around the arm like --

My wound burned with fire like white lightning and an involuntary cry burst from my lips. The sleeper stirred. _Lightning! _I thought weakly as sparks danced before my eyes. _Why didn't I just use lightning?_

"Thalia?" The voice came from nowhere, or somewhere in the dark.

I jumped back in surprise, my battlefield instincts telling me to move move _move! _Unfortunately, my backwards leap sent me straight into the nightstand and down with a clatter. I held perfectly still as my shoulder screamed and my vision grayed out, seeing it I was going to fall unconscious again. After a few minutes, the ringing in my ears faded, and I realized that someone -- the sleeper probably -- had picked me up, was talking to me.

"-- should have let me know you were awake in a less spectacular manner. " he said in a familiar husky voice. "But that would be going against the grain, wouldn't it. You never have done anything by half, Thalia."

He laid me down on the bed again, and at last I caught my breath enough to gasp out a single, shocked word.

"_Luke?"_

To be continued . . .

* * *

**I still haven't decided how . . . _intense_ I want to make this story. You tell me -- intense or _really_ intense? And yes, I am into cliffhangers! -- Lizzy  
**


	2. Luke: Divided

**Melina -- I totally agree. I hate that sort of fan fiction. Its the author imposing on the characters rather then putting them in a new situation. My version of really intense is probably, I dunno, a snowball to the north pole of intensity. I will only go as far as I am comfortable with and for goodness sakes (forgive me for sounding utterly un-teenagery) I'm only seventeen. How much do I even know about north pole-type intense? (I'll drop that phrase now. Promise.) **

**So be forewarned: Thalia is (almost) sixteen. Luke is seventeen (? Correct me if I'm wrong. I don't own the books, so I can't check until I go to the library). I'm going to have them _act their age _to a certain extent. I don't go for the whole 'take the characters in children's stories and have them act like they're in their mid-twenties at least' school of thought.**

**Sorry for giving the wrong impression with my question! Intensity also means action, adventure, that sort of stuff, in my book.  
**

**Honest101, could you elaborate on 'interesting?' It makes me nervous to see ambiguous reviews! :)  
**

**Hope you enjoy and thank you to all the people who left reviews! **

**Lizzy**

Luke: Divided

"_Luke?" _Thalia said my name like it was a curse. She drew breath, eyebrows meeting in a downward line across her forehead, and began a tirade against me, telling me in no uncertain terms what she thought of my recent actions.

I ignored her. I'd heard it all before, from other half-bloods I'd captured and I really didn't want to hear it from her.

_How could you? They were your friends. The Titans have it all wrong, Luke. How could you listen to them? Help them?_

After a while, she stopped long enough to catch her breath. I waited for her to continue, but -- nothing. I looked down at her warily, only to see that her electric blue eyes were closed and she was breathing evenly, asleep. I allowed myself a grim smile. An arrow wound really takes it out of you.

But the smile didn't last long. With the very tip of my finger, I brushed a strand of hair away from Thalia's face. Could I really do this to her? To both of us? I sighed. This assignment made it easy to see why Kronos, Lord of the Titans, was also called the Twisted one. Not only was this a necessary step in the plan, but it was a punishment for me. _Never question the Titan Lord's word, _I'd heard his followers whisper, _or he'll make you question your own sanity._

Rich irony that I shouldn't understand those words until I experienced the truth first hand. I loved Thalia, and if she loved me and would break her vow never to have romantic dealings with a man for me, then my Lord would be satisfied, and Thalia would be forced to give up all the things she cared about. If I didn't get her to break her vow, then I myself would be punished to the point of the unendurable and someone else would be set on her. Then another and another until one succeeded or it was too late and Percy turned sixteen.

I was divided against myself, and whichever way I turned I was snared in Kronos's web.

"Castellan!" A voice called from the hall. "You're wanted up above!"

I acknowledged the command, looked once more at Thalia's sleeping face, then left her, locking the door behind me.

On the deck of the cruise ship _Princess Andromeda, _several mortals were securing a life boat to the ship. A half-blood lay panting on the deck, rubbing his sore arms. He must have been rowing for a long time. I searched my mind for his name. Daniel Something-or-other, Daniel Webbens. That was it. He'd been heading the attempt to find a way into Camp Half-Blood.

When he saw me, Daniel struggled to stand but barely made it to his knees before he fell down again from pure exhaustion. I crouched next to him, looking levelly into his bleary gray eyes. "What did you find out?" I asked calmly.

He focused on me with a visible effort. "Luke . . . we found something . . . something we thought would work . . . but it's horrible . . . and now their all dead, Lee and Sam . . . and Deanna and Mark. All . . . all of them. It killed them!" He was practically shouting at the end. He pulled himself into a sitting position and gripped my shoulder, his words akalding in their intensity. "Never go back . . . leave this ship, Luke . . . leave it while there's still . . . breath in your lungs to scream . . . strength in your legs to run away!"

"Who guards the tunnel, Daniel? Who did you see there?"

He shivered. "The Forgotten One," he said and passed out cold.

I stayed frozen where I was for a long moment. The Forgotten One. No one knew more then the name and a terror in the dark. Nehilvast, the Bringer of Darkened Dreams, forgotten for a thousand-thousand years.

The mortals were all staring at me. I stood and made my expression blank. "What do you think you're doing?" I barked. "Get him below decks and into a bunk, then get on with your work!"

They scrambled to do as I said.

As for myself, I went down to report to Kronos. I had the feeling that he wouldn't let even the Forgotten One stand in him way, no matter the cost.

To be continued . . .

* * *

**Nehilvast isn't a real Greek god. I made him up. There just wasn't any forgotten terror that fit my plans! -- Lizzy**


	3. Percy: A Divine Visitor

**Thanks for reviewing! **

**So Luke is 21. Wow, he's old! (says the 17-year-old blithely, full prepard to deny the words in 4 years time.)  
**

**Right now Percy in 15 and Annabeth's 16, just to get that straight. Linear or no, thats the requirement for the story. (looks sheepish about changing so many things around)**

**As requested, here's a longer chapter for you all! I can't promise that they'll all be longer (I have to keep them small or I'll ramble) but I'll try to get the word count up a bit.**

**Enjoy!**

**Lizzy**

Percy: A Divine Visitor

"Wake _up, _Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth practically yelled in my ear. I jumped.

"I wasn't asleep," I began, then gave it up. From the look on Annabeth's face, that wasn't the first time she'd called me. "What is it, anyway?"

She rolled her eyes, and pointed up the hill to Thalia's pine tree. A large group of people, none of them dressed in Camp Half-Blood-orange t-shirt, clustered at its base. I figured they must be alright, because the dragon guarding the Golden Fleece hadn't turned them into barbecue yet. I could just make out Chiron in the center of the bunch, head and shoulders above the rest of them.

_So much for an afternoon lazing around outside the Poseidon cabin with Tyson, _I thought, shaking my brother awake. His lone eye opened and he stood, peering down at me from several feet up. I'm pretty tall, but Tyson would make a giant think he wasn't so big after all.

"C'mon, big guy," I said. "Let's go see what's up before Annabeth explodes."

We weren't the first campers to get to the hill, but we were close.

"The Hunters!" Annabeth exclaimed when we were only a few yards back. She was right; those bows were as unmistakable as the auburn haired girl who was talking to Chiron. "But where's Thalia? Do you see her?"

I frowned and shook my head. Was that normal? The lieutenant of the Hunters being sent off to do something on her own? Then another possibility occurred to me, and I felt sick. There had been all too many skirmishes with Kronos's forces lately. Never anything big, just minor assaults on lone half-bloods, or small groups maybe. It made everyone jumpy, wondering just what Luke and his army were up to. The Hunters wouldn't be an unusual target for such an attack.

"--considered that Thalia could be dead?" I heard Chiron ask as we came within ear shot. Annabeth balled her hands into fists.

Artemis shook her head sadly. "I'd know if she were. She was only hit in the shoulder, and the fall wasn't long enough to kill. She's been captured. The boat was near enough. And--" The goddess of the hunt trailed off as she saw the expectant faces of the gathering half-bloods. "Perhaps we could finish our conversation in the Big House, Chiron?"

He nodded. "Campers, escort the Hunters to their cabin. They will be staying with us only briefly, so I regret to say that we will have no opportunity for our traditional, friendly game of capture the flag. However, I'm sure that we'll enjoy their company for as long as they are here." The last remark was meant as a warning to the Stoll brothers, who were giving each other conspiratorial glances. They were well known for their practical jokes, particularly toward the Hunters.

Grumbling, the campers made their way back to the cabins. All activities had been canceled that afternoon, though no one had been told why. Perhaps Chiron had been expecting Artemis.

"Thalia captured?" Tyson asked.

"Looks like it," I said heavily, and turned to ask Annabeth what she thought of all this. The words never left my mouth. She had on that faraway look she gets when she's thinking really hard, and there were tears standing in her eyes. "Annabeth?"

"I should have guessed!" she said angrily, wiping the tears away with the heel of her hand. "But it's too awful. I hadn't thought that even _they . . . "_

"What're you talking about?"

She glanced around, making sure there wasn't anyone but me and Tyson near enough to hear her words. "Do you know why Thalia didn't join the Hunt when she was twelve? Before Zeus turned her into a pine tree?"

I blinked. "Yeah, of course. You told me. She didn't want to leave Luke and Grover to fend for themselves, or force you into joining."

She shook her head. "That wasn't the only reason. She and Luke . . . " she coughed. "Had potential. Mutually felt potential. Thats also one of the reasons she joined in the end. It was awful for her when she found out what he'd done, what a monster he'd turned into."

It was my turn to shake my head. Somehow I'd never thought of Thalia as being, you know, in love or anything. She was always just . . . Thalia.

"So I'd bet anything that Kronos knows about that, and that he's trying to use it to his advantage. If he could get Luke to convince Thalia to break her vow against romantic relations, then she'll turn sixteen and he'll have a shot at the prophesy. You've already proved to be a hardened case where he's concerned. Thalia's more vulnerable to his attack. If Kronos got his hands on the Ophiotaurus, then I don't know what would happen."

"Hang on, " I said. "Doesn't Artemis smite anyone who breaks the vow? Or turn them into, what was it, a jackalope? "

"No. In some ways the punishment for an oathbreaking Hunter is much gentler then being killed or turned into a jackalope or a deer, and in other ways its much worse."

I shivered. Worse? "What is it?"

"The knowledge, forever stamped upon your mind, of what you lost, and that you cast it away with your own two hands."

"Oh," I said. Then, "We've got to something to help her."

Annabeth and Tyson nodded their agreement emphatically.

"We'll have to go by sea. No other way."

More nods.

"And we'll have to sneak out. You know they'd never let us go otherwise."

We worked out the finer details of out escape, then made our way back toward the cabins.

"I wish Grover weren't still off searching for Pan," Annabeth said. I agreed. The goat boy would have made the perfect fourth for our miscreant quest. But then maybe it was better like this. When ever more them three people set out on a quest, something awful always happened. It was the traditional number, so I guessed we'd better stick to it.

Beside me, Annabeth suddenly started giggling. I looked at her sideways, concerned for her sanity. With an effort, she composed herself.

"I'm sorry," she said breathlessly. "But it's just_ too_ much like the summer before last."

I smiled to, but only a bit. Deja vu wasn't necessarily a good thing. After all, they say that history repeats itself.

A slightly less poetic phrase I'd heard was 'the Fates only buy one brand of cosmic thread.' But that doesn't have the same ring to it.

_Right, _I thought to myself. _Now all we have to do is leave camp undetected, storm a demon cruise ship (assuming Thalia is even on it) bust her out of there and get back here again. Simple._

_Dear gods, I hope Mr. D doesn't expel us from camp like Tantalus was going to last time. _

-

Interim: Luke

Aboard the Princess Andromeda, Thalia tossed and turned, her damp hair straggling across her face. Behind their lids, her eyes moved back and forth restlessly. I leaned forward and rested my fingers against her forehead. She felt hot. Too hot to be healthy.

As she murmured inaudibly in her restless sleep, I shivered. Fever had set in.

To be continued . . .

* * *

**Hmm, was too much of that a repeat from last chapter? I don't know. But it was interesting to write about from a outside perspective. -- Lizzy**


	4. Thalia: Fever Pitch

**Keep in mind while reading this chapter that Thalia has a fever. Have you ever had a really bad one? If you have, then you know the feeling. Everything seems like its out of focus, but weirdly clearer then it usually is . . . I don't know know how to explain it precisely. Anyway, she has a fever and its making her thoughts all disjointed and weird. **

**Enjoy!**

**Lizzy, The Ink Stained Quill**

Thalia: Fever Pitch

_I opened my eyes to see a face, flickering before my eyes like a candle flame. My skin felt like ice, but there was sweat on my forehead, as if I were too near a fire. Fire and Ice . . . my mother used to have a poem called that pinned to her wall, written out in red ink. The face in front of me wavered, and I thought I heard a voice._

_"Thalia, listen to me. I'll tell you a story."_

_A story . . . stories were like poems, like Fire and Ice. A poem about how the world would end. Did that mean that this was the end of my world, the end of Thalia, Daughter of Zeus? Truly the end this time? I didn't know, and the voice went on._

_"There once was a great hunter, called Orion. He was a son of Poseidon, and -- are you listening to me, Thalia?"_

_Poseidon, god of the sea. The sea never froze into ice, ice like my skin, not where the water was deep. I must have nodded, because the voice went on._

_"He once made a deal with the king of an island. If Orion were to rid the island of all beasts, then he could marry the kings beautiful daughter." I felt a hand smooth my hair back off my forehead. I tried to sit up, but stars danced before my eyes and the hand pushed me back down again. _

_"Orion hunted with all the skill of Artemis herself, and one day there were no more beasts left for him to kill. He went back to king of the island, and claimed the princess as his wife. But the king didn't wish for his daughter to marry Orion, so he gave him wine mixed with a sleeping potion to drink that night."_

_Sleep. Was I asleep? Or was I really lying here, in this bed, the sheets twisted into uncomfortable knots from my own twisting. Twisting like a candle flame, a wavering and dancing flame. Like the face in front of me. A familiar face, if I could only think._

_"Orion fell into a deep sleep, and the king of the island put out his eyes. Orion woke with a start, blood running down his cheeks like tears, and he fled from the island. Once he had heard a prophesy from the Oracle at Delphi that if he were blinded, then he should travel to the very edge of the earth where sky met sea, and watch the sunrise. Then his sight would be restored."_

_Being blind wasn't the same as not being able to see. For I couldn't see, and I didn't remember being blind. Or were we all blind, dreaming up a world of faces and people, fire and ice, to fill the emptiness. _

_"So Orion traveled to the east of east, and there his sight returned to him, clearer and more precious then ever. And there, too, Eos, the goddess of the Dawn, fell in love with him. He stayed there with her for many days, but at heart, he was a hunter, and he needed quarry. Do you wish for something to hunt too, Thalia?"_

_Did I? Yes. I was never happy without something to do, something that kept me on my toes and the world turning under my feet._

_"He left Eos to wander the lonely places of the world, hunting with all his skill and cunning. In a wood far, far away from the place of his birth, he met the goddess Artemis as the both stalked the same prey. He was the only man who ever matched Artemis as a hunter. Until then neither man nor woman nor god nor child of the gods had been able to rival her skill. He was the only man whom the Goddess of the Hunt ever favored."_

_Not true! my heart said. Not true! How could it be? Lady Artemis had nothing to do with men. Ever, for all time. But how long was time? Would it end in fire, or in ice?  
_

_"When Apollo realized that his twin was in love, he was protective of her. What if this mortal left Artemis as easily as he had abandoned Eos, rosy-fingered lady of the Dawn? So Apollo sent a giant scorpion after Orion. It stung him, and as its venom spread through his veins, poisoning his blood and burning his flesh, he dies. If Artemis had been with him, she might have been able to save him, but she was not."_

_So Orion's world had ended in fire. 'From what I've tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor fire.' And he had felt desire, it would seem. For the princess, for the Dawn, maybe for Artemis too._

_"Do you understand, Thalia? Even a goddess, who is eternally young, has to grow up eventually. How can you renounce love without once knowing what it is? Do you understand?"_

_Was that true? It seemed to make sense. You can't reason with a child. You have to show him what to do. You only start to understand when your older. I shouldn't touch the fire, because it will burn me. What was wrong with love? I didn't know. Only that I'd sworn an oath to protect my friends and family. That was love, too, but not the same kind.  
_

_"How can you swear never to love without knowing what it is you're giving up? Do you hear me, Thalia? Do you understand?"_

_The face bent over me and I felt something soft touch my lips._

_"Go to sleep, Thalia."_

_My mind felt blurred and dry, as if I were seeing everything through a heat haze. Or maybe a sheet of ice?_

_I fell, at last, asleep._

-

When I woke up, my eyes felt all gritty, like I'd been asleep for a lot longer then one night. My muscles were stiff, too. I felt too warm and slightly dazed, as if --

_As if I'd had a fever! _I realized. No wonder, with a wound like that. When I checked, there was nothing but a thin white scar to show where the arrow had pierced my skin. I was completely healed.

Somewhere outside the room, I could hear a hollow booming sound almost like a rock slide, but shorter. Carefully, I sat up. for a moment, my vision grayed over and I thought I might pass out, but it was only a momentary sensation.

I was in a generic room: bed, dresser, nightstand, lamp, chair. They were all bland variants on beige and white, with an off-white rug that wouldn't show dirt. On the chair there was a small heap of black. Cautiously, I stood and inspected it. My clothes! No longer dirty and blood soaked. Eagerly, I put them on. There was only so much one could take of huge white nightgowns, after all.

Barefoot, I left the cabin and ventured out into the hall. Before long, I came to a stair case, which in turn, I discovered, led to the deck of the Princess Andromeda. Just as I reached the top step, though, I froze. Luke was standing there in front of me, his back turned, peering out across the uneven water, but that wasn't what left me cold in my tracks.

In the distance ahead of us, two massive stones, the size of small islands, crashed together with a noise like thunder, sending up a spray of water. They drew apart as if they were magnets of the same pole, repelling each other, then flew together again with all the force of an avalanche.

I knew where we were, and the knowledge made my head spin. The Clashing Rocks, the entrance Jason the Argonaut had used to get into--

"The Sea of Monsters," I whispered.

To be continued . . .

**For those of you who aren't familiar with it, here's the poem that Thalia was going on about when she had the fever. **

_**Fire and Ice**_

_By Robert Frost_

_Some say the world will end in fire,  
Some say in ice.  
From what I've tasted of desire  
I hold with those who favor fire.  
But if it had to perish twice,  
I think I know enough of hate  
To say that for destruction ice  
Is also great  
And would suffice._

**What do you think? Review and let me know! --Lizzy**


	5. Author's Note

**Hi! **

**I'm going to be away for a few days, but I'll be back Thursday and I really truly promise to write a new chapter as soon as I'm settled. If, by weekend after next, there are no updates, I give you all full permission to be horrendously angry with me. **

**In the meantime, have fun, Oh My Readers.  
**

**You'll be hearing from me soon via Fan Fiction!**

**Lizzy**

UPDATE - JULY FIRST:

It seems that I wasn't really very clear . . . I promised to update by the first weekend in July, not the last one in June. Sorry for the confusion, and I'll be getting the new chapter up as soon as its finished.

Lizzy


	6. Author's note II

**Hi,**

**For various personal reasons, I have chosen to discontinue this story. I really am very sorry. I just have too much on my plate at the moment to be able to promise even occasional updates. Several family emergencies will be eating up a good bit of my free time from here on out, and there are other things that come higher on my priorities list then this story. **

**If I get the chance, I'll post a short summary of the events that were supposed to happen after that last chapter. **

**I'm really, _really_ sorry.**

**Lizzy**


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